Area school board candidates promise lower taxes

Published 5:30 am, Sunday, October 4, 2009

A slew of fiscally conservative candidates is vying for seats on suburban school boards, including those in Alief and Cypress-Fairbanks, on a promise to lower property taxes during the economic downturn.

Houston, Spring, Klein and North Forest are among the other school districts with contested races in the Nov. 3 election.

In Cy-Fair ISD, where six people are running for two seats, challengers are campaigning to protect an optional 20 percent homestead exemption that administrators suggested slashing earlier this year to stave off spending cuts. While candidates say recession-related frustration drove them to advocate for relief for home and business owners, few have specific plans on how to both lower taxes and improve the quality of education.

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“I wish I had an answer for that. If I did, I'd be a real politician,” said Cy-Fair candidate Willie Wright, a real estate agent who said she's running to help build a conservative consensus on the board. “There's some of us that just have recognized that we need to be fiscally responsible.”

Another challenger, Bill Morris, wrote in a school district candidate questionnaire that Cy-Fair needs to keep its homestead exemption and “encourage morality-based principles in our classrooms.”

‘An antiquated thing'

While tightening the purse strings remains a priority in Spring, implementing an optional homestead exemption isn't a major issue in the election that has seven candidates running for two seats.

“That's an antiquated thing that no one is trying to initiate,” said Ronald Crier, an incumbent facing three challengers.

Concerns about tax relief for homeowners is on the forefront in Alief ISD, where candidates are upset that their district doesn't offer an extra exemption. Nine candidates are running for four seats — a board majority — in a race that some have called the most contentious in recent Alief history.

Backed by residents of the wealthy Royal Oaks neighborhood, the Improve Alief Schools Political Action Committee is pushing for tax relief and academic improvements. At question is the size of budget cuts that would be needed to offset an extra homestead exemption.

Administrators have said the tax break could cost teachers jobs, while the three PAC-backed candidates say it can be done without staff cuts.

Marilyn Swick, one of the conservative challengers in Alief, argued that a tax break could be granted without cutting teachers. When pressed, she said she couldn't yet provides specific examples of what she would propose cutting.

“People have blown this out of proportion with their own scare tactics,” she said. “I'm running to improve academic standards. I'm not even here to talk about (tax relief).”

‘There's so much at stake'

“There's so much at stake for the district. That's what's so scary,” said Winkler, who is running for re-election after 12 years on the board. “If they take over, they're going to ruin this school district.”

Winkler said she expects to spend about five times her usual campaign budget.

Incumbent Nghi Ho, who is also running for re-election, said the board needs the fresh blood. Under the status quo, the district's tax rate is high, but the quality of education is subpar, he said. Alief ISD needs magnet, charter and vocational programs to foster competition and provide choices to families, he said.

“The growing concern in the community is that the taxes have been raised five times in 10 years,” he said. “We're in a competition here. We're not just losing to Fort Bend and Katy, we're losing to HISD.”